6 Broadcaster Press NOVEMBER 2018 December 4, 2018 www.broadcasteronline.com VERMILLION.K12.SD.US VERMILLION HIGH SCHOOL’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER GIVING THANKS & GIVING BACK BY MASON COURNOYER T he Thanksgiving holiday is a time for families to get together around a grand feast, celebrating the good times surrounded by the ones they love. It is a beautiful festivity held across the United States of America, in which we sometimes take for granted. There are families everywhere who cannot join due to their financial situations; Kelly Stone, a teacher at Vermillion High School, aims to fix that within our community. She devised the Tanager Takeout program, which is located inside Vermillion High School in Room 41 and is held every Friday. ÒWeÕve been looking to getting more food to the kids in our school and their families,Ó Stone says. The program happily serves around 50 families weekly; combining efforts with the likes of the Welcome Table and The Backpack Program. Together, they ensure our community is not hungry and not alone. As a participant of Tanager Takeout myself, I have nothing but praise for what Mrs. Stone is doing. If you feel the same way and want to help in any way possible, donate food or money to PO Box 219 and your contribution will not be forgotten. Another program helping serve the community of Vermillion is Kelly Stone (far right) and Tanager Takeout volunteers. Photo submitted by Kelly Stone. the Food Pantry, located at Trinity Lutheran Church. Teresa McDowell Johnson is one of the few who help keep the community fed. ÒIÕve always worked in Social Services,Ó she said, ÒI like working with individuals. I know people are hungry and they’re invisible to regular citizens. You never know what the person next to you is going through. A good kid wouldn’t be able to concentrate if heÕs hungry and no one can visibly see that. A lot of food in great condition is thrown away when they should be going to families who need it.Ó As many as 270 families around the Vermillion Community are served every month. The Thanksgiving holiday can see as much as 150,000 pounds of food donated to the Food Pantry program. The Thanksgiving meals offer turkeys, stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, and pretty much anything else holiday related. The Food Pantry program is only as strong as its volunteers which has over 80 people who donate their time each year. In addition to the great volunteers, the Food Pantry also combines efforts with various other programs surrounding the community including the Welcome Table, Tanager Takeout, Backpack Program, the Salvation Army, EvanÕs Diaper Bank, and BrianÕs Closet. If you are interested in donating to the Food Pantry, you can drop off items at 816 East Clark, at one of the drop boxes located at any of the churches in Vermillion, or at the blue barrel drop sites at Walmart and HyVee. A DAY TO HONOR 5 W. Cherry St. Vermillion BY MARCUS DIAZ & MADDI KALLSEN O n Nov 12, the Veterans Day assembly welcomed the entire community to come to celebrate the service of veterans within the community and throughout the country. All the schools in the community participated. Austin school and Saint Agnes came and sang about the pride of America. The middle school interviewed staff and students around the school and made a heartfelt video on what veterans day means to them. The high school gladly hosted the event in the gym. The juniors wrote papers about veterans who are close to them or have impacted their lives. Ashlyn Bickett won the writing contest. Morgan Kirkman re- ceived second place, while Nick Doty and Madison France tied for third place. While interviewing Ashlyn Bickett, she spoke about the pride she has for her father, who she wrote her essay about, and the pride she has for America. Her father served for over thirty years in the National Guard and became a great leader in and out of the military. She felt surprised and grateful after realizing her paper won. It wasnÕt difficult for Ashlyn to reflect on the importance of Veterans day or the service of veterans; A day to honor everyone who protects us is a good one. Ms. Lenni Billberg started the Veterans Day program five years ago. It was originally held at the W. H. Over Museum, where less than forty people attended. Billberg proposed to the American Legion Committee to have the event at the High School; from there it grew to where it is today. She loves to read the Junior Veterans Day papers. It helps her get to know the community and her students. Ms. Billberg thinks Veterans Day gives us all a chance to honor the veteransÕ service. Veterans Day give us all the opportunity to support the troops and share a sense of vital patriotism and pride for our beautiful country. 624-4444 Tanager Merchandise, Greeting Cards, Candies, Home Decor and Many Other Great Gift Ideas! 525 West Cherry St. Vermillion, SD 57069 605-624-5574 November 2018 VHS STUDENTS HEAD TO THE POLLS BY MADDI KALLSEN V oting is vital to our democracy here in America and gives us all an opportunity to partake in the important decision making that determines who leads us. This November, one of the most important elections occurred, the Primary. Many seniors at Vermillion High School are now old enough to vote; some have gone out, registered and voted, others chose not to. As adults, many believe itÕs an important responsibility to vote, while some donÕt have much of an opinion on politics in general. One student who chose not to vote simply claimed they Òreally donÕt care.Ó They added, ÒI do notice issues and maybe if I had done the research as to who is trying to fix the issues I care about, I would have voted.Ó The student also went on to say, ÒMy vote matters, just not that much.Ó Many no doubt relate to the way this student feels, so many in fact it changes the course of elections. The importance of voting can be summed up with ease by Mother Teresa. ÒWe ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.Ó Many students who chose to vote felt a bit more strongly on the issues and solutions at hand, and the people running to address them. After voting, another student said, ÒI really wanted to vote and looked forward to it. ItÕs important to be involved and informed.Ó She went on to say, ÒI felt like a real part of democracy.Ó Various other students shared these same thoughts. Eagerness among young people around the country to vote is becoming more and more popular, although there is still an ever-pressing issue with people not voting. Voting is vital. Voting, in and of itself, is the basis in which our democracy runs on. Our entire political system is based on what the people believe to be just and true. Maddi Kallsen is the Student Editor of the Vermillionaire. StudentÕs identities were kept anonymous for this story to encourage thoughtful response without revealing political bias. 30 7pm Dance Inferno Recital @VHS State “Oral Interp. Festival” @ Watertown December 2018 1 SAT Test- TBA TBA- Dance Inferno Recital @VHS 9am Wrestling Invite:SF Roosevelt (T) 3 7pm 7th/8th GBB: Yankton (T) 7pm School Board Meeting @ al Neuharth Media Center, USD Campus 4 7:30 VHS Holiday Concert @VHS 4:30 7th/8th GBB: West Central 6 7pm 6th Grade Winter Concert @ VHS 5pm Wrestling Quad: Yankton (T) 4pm 7th/8th GBB: Harrisburg (T) 7 4pm BBB/GBB: Bon Homme (H) 8 TBA- ACT Test @VHS Dakota XII 7th/8th GBB: TBA- 7th @ Lennox TBA-8th @Canton 10am Wrestling: Watertown Invite (T) 12pm Gymnastics: Wagner (T) 10 4:15pm 7th/8th GBB: Yankton (T) 11 6:30pm 5th Grade Winter Concert @VHS 5pm Wrestling Double Dual (H) 5pm BBB: Flandreau Indians (T) 13 4:30pm 7th/8th GBB: Lennox (T) 14 6pm Gymnastics Triangular: SF Roosevelt (T) 15 TBA- GBB @Pentagon 9am Wrestling: SF Washington (T) 18 4pm BBB/GBB: Tri Valley (T) 17 7pm VHS Fall Show @VHS State “A” Volleyball @Sioux Falls 20 Early Dismissal- All Schools Dismissed @1:30pm 21 NO SCHOOL- Christmas Vacation 22 11:30- Winter Wonderland 9am Wrestling: SF Lincoln (T) 24 NO SCHOOL- Christmas Eve 25 NO SCHOOL- Christmas Day :) 26 NO SCHOOL- Christmas Vacation 27 NO SCHOOL- Christmas Vacation 28 NO SCHOOL- Christmas Vacation 4pm BBB/GBB: Tea Area (T) 31 NO SCHOOL- New Year’s Eve